Related: China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web users | Obama Wants Computer Privacy Ruling Overturned | Security boss calls for end to net anonymity | First it’s ‘For the Children’: Microsoft working to ID you online

Joseph Menn, Financial Times
June 26, 2010

The White House set out a sweeping strategy to make online transactions more secure on Friday. The move is the most ambitious initiative to emerge from a cybersecurity policy intended to blunt the growing menace of online crime.

Howard Schmidt, president Barack Obama’s cybersecurity co-ordinator, who took up his duties in early 2010, released the strategy paper after 12 months of discussions led by the National Security Council and involving scores of private sector groups, critical infrastructure owners and privacy advocates.

The strategy seeks the creation of a system for identity management that would allow citizens to use additional authentication techniques, such as physical tokens or modules on mobile phones, to verify who they are before buying things online or accessing such sensitive information as health or banking records.

A set of standards would let multiple vendors offer authentication services, while people whose identities have been verified would be able to move from website to website without resubmitting information.

Privacy protections would require companies involved to limit their collection and dissemination of personal data, for example confirming that a consumer is over 21 without passing along the person’s birth date.

The government would take the lead by establishing the standards and subscribing to authentication services.

Internet companies and government agencies have long supported the idea of multipurpose identification systems, but adoption has foundered in part because of limited incentives for participation. As a result, a bank will have one set of protocols for establishing a client’s identity, while a state agency and hospital have others.

The matter has taken on increased urgency as more valuable data pours online and malicious software grows more sophisticated. Industry estimates for the theft of intellectual property and online fraud run as high as $1,000bn annually.

Congressional and private sector support will be critical for the new effort.

“This is a vision and you need that, but they’re going to need to work with Congress and get government agencies to test out different pieces of this,” said Aris Schwartz, vice-president of the Center for Democracy and Technology. Congress would need to fund test programmes and, perhaps, approve tax incentives.

It has been hard to formulate legislation because internet security issues intrude into so many political areas. But Harry Reid, Senate majority leader, recently urged committee chairmen to harmonise pending bills for cybersecurity overhauls, making it likely new laws will emerge from Congress this year.

Source | See also under Internet: ACTA Leak: EU pushes for criminalizing non-commercial usages | Cybersecurity: Booz Allen Hamilton Cashing Out After Scaring Gov’t Into Lucrative Contracts | Obama Can Shut Down Internet For 4 Months Under New Emergency Powers | Australian Government to Force Use of State Firewall Package, Block ‘Unauthorized’ Programs | Heritage Minister tars those opposing copyright bill C32 as ‘radical extremists’ | Experts Draft Document Critical Of ACTA: Signatures Wanted | Google facing multiple international probes over Street View GPS wardriving campaign | US Senator: China Can Shut Down The Internet, Why Can’t We? | Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US President | U.S. seeks international organization in battle against cyber terror | Homeland Security’s Cyber Bill Would Codify Executive Emergency Powers | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | Rural Internet providers angered by federal support of bigger rivals | Maybe it’s time to muzzle the trolls: Globe tech writer advocates online moderation | US Federal Trade Commission considers taxing online speech | Lieberman Bill Gives Feds ‘Emergency’ Powers to Secure Civilian Nets | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | India Gearing Up To Fight ACTA; Seeking Other, Like-Minded, Countries | Cyber Command: We Don’t Wanna Defend the Internet (We Just Might Have To) | Pentagon: Let us monitor your network or else | US appoints first cyber warfare general | Harper government secretly monitoring online chats about politics | Obama Czar Wants Mandatory Government Propaganda On Political Websites | Power Corp. open to charging for online content | NSA head confirmed as chief of US cyber command | Pirate Bay Appeal Judges Cleared of Bias | International Copyright Draft Release Was Apparently A One Time Deal: Now We’re Back To Secrecy | Industry Minister Clement invites input on Canadian digital economy | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | US regulators seek new network neutrality laws | CRTC approves usage-based internet billing | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Fox News Caught Aggregating Others Copyrighted Photographs… Something Murdoch Insists Is Illegal | Cybersecurity event seeks to spur international talks | Australian PM shelves web filter legislation until after election | China wants internet firms to inform on clients | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Prospective U.S. Cyber Commander Talks Terms of Digital Warfare | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | Leading UK ISP Says It Will Defy Government’s Net Censorship Bill | Nikkei Restricts Links to Its New Web Site | Canadian researchers reveal another botnet in China, call for state cybersecurity | Internet linking rights case to go before Supreme Court | Isohunt Ordered to Remove Infringing Content | CETA worse than ACTA – EU Trade Negotiators Demand Canada Completely Overhaul Its Intellectual Property Laws | UK: Met Police launch net café spy operation | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | UK Budget 2010: Darling puts emphasis on broadband for all | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Google reroutes uncensored search to Hong Kong, raises stakes in row with China | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | Net produces new generation of human rights activists in China | U.S. cybersecurity bill introduced in Senate | Copyright conviction raises privacy concerns | U.S. feds snooping on Facebook | MP Charlie Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | Pot, Palin and prorogation: Stephen Harper gets grilled on YouTube | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | PM turns to YouTube – and takes questions | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | Cyber-bullying cases put heat on Google, Facebook | Cyberattacks push CSIS to reach out to business | United States weighs massive expansion of Internet monitoring | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | UK: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ by Digital Economy Bill | Cryptome.org Leaks Microsoft Online Surveillance Guide, MS Demands Takedown Under Copyright Law | Italy Convicts Google Execs over Youtube Video of Downs Syndrome Boy | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | More Details Emerging About School Laptop Spying, And It Doesn’t Look Good | School Spycams Case Explodes As Feds Initiate Probe | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | Pennsylvania schools spying on students using laptop Webcams, claims lawsuit | Google Books Fosters Intellectual, Legal Crossroads | Google Bans Sale of DVD Critical Of Obama Administration | EU Already Has A ‘Public/Private’ IP Observatory To Watch For Copyright Infringement Online | Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | Swedish Justice Minister reluctant to store internet user’s data | Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Hollywood loses landmark copyright case in Australia | Police want backdoor to Web users’ private data | Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web users | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | China Google Hack Exploited Security Gaps Introduced By State Surveillance Provisions | Privacy watchdog wants public input on social networking sites | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | Obama Information Czar Outlined Plan For Government To Infiltrate ‘Conspiracy Groups’ | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder | For more, visit The Memory Hole – Internet

La Quadrature du Net
June 25, 2010

A document leaked from the Presidency of the EU reveals that Member States are pushing for new criminal sanctions into the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), a few days ahead of the next negotiation round. The proposal stated in this document reveals how illegitimate and dangerous the whole ACTA process is, while exposing the scary position of the EU calling for more repression of non-for-profit usages… and their incitation.

The ninth round of negotiations1 of ACTA will begin in a few days in Luzern, Switzerland. A new leaked text, dated April 7th, proves that Member States, through the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, are negotiating the toughest parts of ACTA. The fact that the Presidency is negotiating along with the Commission 2 by itself shows that ACTA goes way beyond the scope of a regular trade agreement. Criminal sanctions (jail sentences!) being negotiated and not debated by elected representatives in democratic arenas, is more than shocking. Such a blatant denial of democracy justifies by itself a rejection of the whole ACTA process, whatever the agreed text might be.

But the content of the position pushed by the Member States of the EU is even more disturbing. The Presidency document states that “The Position of the Member States of the European Union is still under examination” with regard to article 2.14.1 that covers copyright or related rights infringements. As visible in the released ACTA text, some proposals for 2.14.1 explicitly plan to apply criminal sanctions to “infringements that have no direct or indirect motivation of financial gain”, and others give a definition of financial gain that include obtaining anything without paying3. The EU is clearly pushing for new criminal sanctions on counterfeiting and copyright infrigement that will also target non-commercial usages. If criminal sanctions for non-for-profit transfers of data is included in the final version of article 2.14.1, criminal sanctions for “inciting, aiding and abetting” will automatically apply4. Consequences for freedom of expression and innovation on the Internet could be devastating.

“The ACTA agreement, by its opacity and undemocratic nature, allows criminal sanctions to be simply negotiated. The leaked document shows that the EU Member States are willing to impose prison sanctions for non-commercial usages of copyrighted works on the Internet as well as for ‘inciting and aiding’, a notion so broad that it could cover any Internet service or speech questioning copyright policies. EU citizens should interrogate their governments about their support to policies that obviously attack freedom of speech, privacy and innovation. Around the next round of negotiations and beyond, ACTA should be restlessly combatted and opposed worldwide.” concludes Jérémie Zimmermann, spokesperson for citizen advocacy group La Quadrature du Net.

Source | See also under Internet: Cybersecurity: Booz Allen Hamilton Cashing Out After Scaring Gov’t Into Lucrative Contracts | Obama Can Shut Down Internet For 4 Months Under New Emergency Powers | Australian Government to Force Use of State Firewall Package, Block ‘Unauthorized’ Programs | Heritage Minister tars those opposing copyright bill C32 as ‘radical extremists’ | Experts Draft Document Critical Of ACTA: Signatures Wanted | Google facing multiple international probes over Street View GPS wardriving campaign | US Senator: China Can Shut Down The Internet, Why Can’t We? | Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US President | U.S. seeks international organization in battle against cyber terror | Homeland Security’s Cyber Bill Would Codify Executive Emergency Powers | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | Rural Internet providers angered by federal support of bigger rivals | Maybe it’s time to muzzle the trolls: Globe tech writer advocates online moderation | US Federal Trade Commission considers taxing online speech | Lieberman Bill Gives Feds ‘Emergency’ Powers to Secure Civilian Nets | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | India Gearing Up To Fight ACTA; Seeking Other, Like-Minded, Countries | Cyber Command: We Don’t Wanna Defend the Internet (We Just Might Have To) | Pentagon: Let us monitor your network or else | US appoints first cyber warfare general | Harper government secretly monitoring online chats about politics | Obama Czar Wants Mandatory Government Propaganda On Political Websites | Power Corp. open to charging for online content | NSA head confirmed as chief of US cyber command | Pirate Bay Appeal Judges Cleared of Bias | International Copyright Draft Release Was Apparently A One Time Deal: Now We’re Back To Secrecy | Industry Minister Clement invites input on Canadian digital economy | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | US regulators seek new network neutrality laws | CRTC approves usage-based internet billing | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Fox News Caught Aggregating Others Copyrighted Photographs… Something Murdoch Insists Is Illegal | Cybersecurity event seeks to spur international talks | Australian PM shelves web filter legislation until after election | China wants internet firms to inform on clients | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Prospective U.S. Cyber Commander Talks Terms of Digital Warfare | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | Leading UK ISP Says It Will Defy Government’s Net Censorship Bill | Nikkei Restricts Links to Its New Web Site | Canadian researchers reveal another botnet in China, call for state cybersecurity | Internet linking rights case to go before Supreme Court | Isohunt Ordered to Remove Infringing Content | CETA worse than ACTA – EU Trade Negotiators Demand Canada Completely Overhaul Its Intellectual Property Laws | UK: Met Police launch net café spy operation | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | UK Budget 2010: Darling puts emphasis on broadband for all | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Google reroutes uncensored search to Hong Kong, raises stakes in row with China | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | Net produces new generation of human rights activists in China | U.S. cybersecurity bill introduced in Senate | Copyright conviction raises privacy concerns | U.S. feds snooping on Facebook | MP Charlie Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | Pot, Palin and prorogation: Stephen Harper gets grilled on YouTube | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | PM turns to YouTube – and takes questions | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | Cyber-bullying cases put heat on Google, Facebook | Cyberattacks push CSIS to reach out to business | United States weighs massive expansion of Internet monitoring | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | UK: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ by Digital Economy Bill | Cryptome.org Leaks Microsoft Online Surveillance Guide, MS Demands Takedown Under Copyright Law | Italy Convicts Google Execs over Youtube Video of Downs Syndrome Boy | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | More Details Emerging About School Laptop Spying, And It Doesn’t Look Good | School Spycams Case Explodes As Feds Initiate Probe | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | Pennsylvania schools spying on students using laptop Webcams, claims lawsuit | Google Books Fosters Intellectual, Legal Crossroads | Google Bans Sale of DVD Critical Of Obama Administration | EU Already Has A ‘Public/Private’ IP Observatory To Watch For Copyright Infringement Online | Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | Swedish Justice Minister reluctant to store internet user’s data | Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Hollywood loses landmark copyright case in Australia | Police want backdoor to Web users’ private data | Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web users | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | China Google Hack Exploited Security Gaps Introduced By State Surveillance Provisions | Privacy watchdog wants public input on social networking sites | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | Obama Information Czar Outlined Plan For Government To Infiltrate ‘Conspiracy Groups’ | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder | For more, visit The Memory Hole – Internet

Mike Masnick, Techdirt.com
June 25, 2010

Earlier this year, we noted that government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton had been making the rounds ringing up the moral panic over “cyberterrorism,” without any significant evidence of it actually existing in any real form. The key to all of this was the hiring of former director of national intelligence Michael McConnell as a VP, whose main job seems to be scaring the press into repeating Booz Allen fear mongering talking points and attributing them to him without even bothering to mention that he’s employed by a company that is making a ton of money from this fear mongering. And, boy, has Booz Allen raked in the money. Since the fear mongering began, the firm has secured at least hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts.

Of course, that’s good for the firm, but what about its investors? Well, now that it’s scared the government and the public into handing over all this cash, it looks like its investors want to cash out. The company has now announced plans for an IPO so they can walk off with the cash, built off of scaring the public over a supposed threat for which they have little actual evidence. What a deal!

Source | See also under Internet: Obama Can Shut Down Internet For 4 Months Under New Emergency Powers | Australian Government to Force Use of State Firewall Package, Block ‘Unauthorized’ Programs | Heritage Minister tars those opposing copyright bill C32 as ‘radical extremists’ | Experts Draft Document Critical Of ACTA: Signatures Wanted | Google facing multiple international probes over Street View GPS wardriving campaign | US Senator: China Can Shut Down The Internet, Why Can’t We? | Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US President | U.S. seeks international organization in battle against cyber terror | Homeland Security’s Cyber Bill Would Codify Executive Emergency Powers | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | Rural Internet providers angered by federal support of bigger rivals | Maybe it’s time to muzzle the trolls: Globe tech writer advocates online moderation | US Federal Trade Commission considers taxing online speech | Lieberman Bill Gives Feds ‘Emergency’ Powers to Secure Civilian Nets | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | India Gearing Up To Fight ACTA; Seeking Other, Like-Minded, Countries | Cyber Command: We Don’t Wanna Defend the Internet (We Just Might Have To) | Pentagon: Let us monitor your network or else | US appoints first cyber warfare general | Harper government secretly monitoring online chats about politics | Obama Czar Wants Mandatory Government Propaganda On Political Websites | Power Corp. open to charging for online content | NSA head confirmed as chief of US cyber command | Pirate Bay Appeal Judges Cleared of Bias | International Copyright Draft Release Was Apparently A One Time Deal: Now We’re Back To Secrecy | Industry Minister Clement invites input on Canadian digital economy | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | US regulators seek new network neutrality laws | CRTC approves usage-based internet billing | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Fox News Caught Aggregating Others Copyrighted Photographs… Something Murdoch Insists Is Illegal | Cybersecurity event seeks to spur international talks | Australian PM shelves web filter legislation until after election | China wants internet firms to inform on clients | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Prospective U.S. Cyber Commander Talks Terms of Digital Warfare | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | Leading UK ISP Says It Will Defy Government’s Net Censorship Bill | Nikkei Restricts Links to Its New Web Site | Canadian researchers reveal another botnet in China, call for state cybersecurity | Internet linking rights case to go before Supreme Court | Isohunt Ordered to Remove Infringing Content | CETA worse than ACTA – EU Trade Negotiators Demand Canada Completely Overhaul Its Intellectual Property Laws | UK: Met Police launch net café spy operation | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | UK Budget 2010: Darling puts emphasis on broadband for all | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Google reroutes uncensored search to Hong Kong, raises stakes in row with China | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | Net produces new generation of human rights activists in China | U.S. cybersecurity bill introduced in Senate | Copyright conviction raises privacy concerns | U.S. feds snooping on Facebook | MP Charlie Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | Pot, Palin and prorogation: Stephen Harper gets grilled on YouTube | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | PM turns to YouTube – and takes questions | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | Cyber-bullying cases put heat on Google, Facebook | Cyberattacks push CSIS to reach out to business | United States weighs massive expansion of Internet monitoring | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | UK: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ by Digital Economy Bill | Cryptome.org Leaks Microsoft Online Surveillance Guide, MS Demands Takedown Under Copyright Law | Italy Convicts Google Execs over Youtube Video of Downs Syndrome Boy | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | More Details Emerging About School Laptop Spying, And It Doesn’t Look Good | School Spycams Case Explodes As Feds Initiate Probe | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | Pennsylvania schools spying on students using laptop Webcams, claims lawsuit | Google Books Fosters Intellectual, Legal Crossroads | Google Bans Sale of DVD Critical Of Obama Administration | EU Already Has A ‘Public/Private’ IP Observatory To Watch For Copyright Infringement Online | Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | Swedish Justice Minister reluctant to store internet user’s data | Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Hollywood loses landmark copyright case in Australia | Police want backdoor to Web users’ private data | Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web users | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | China Google Hack Exploited Security Gaps Introduced By State Surveillance Provisions | Privacy watchdog wants public input on social networking sites | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | Obama Information Czar Outlined Plan For Government To Infiltrate ‘Conspiracy Groups’ | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder | For more, visit The Memory Hole – Internet

Paul Joseph Watson, PrisonPlanet.com
June 25, 2010

‘Kill switch’ bill approved, moves to Senate floor

President Obama will be handed the power to shut down the Internet for at least four months without Congressional oversight if the Senate votes for the infamous Internet ‘kill switch’ bill, which was approved by a key Senate committee yesterday and now moves to the floor.

The Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, which is being pushed hard by Senator Joe Lieberman, would hand absolute power to the federal government to close down networks, and block incoming Internet traffic from certain countries under a declared national emergency.

Despite the Center for Democracy and Technology and 23 other privacy and technology organizations sending letters to Lieberman and other backers of the bill expressing concerns that the legislation could be used to stifle free speech, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee passed in the bill in advance of a vote on the Senate floor.

In response to widespread criticism of the bill, language was added that would force the government to seek congressional approval to extend emergency measures beyond 120 days. Still, this would hand Obama the authority to shut down the Internet on a whim without Congressional oversight or approval for a period of no less than four months.

The Senators pushing the bill rejected the claim that the bill was a ‘kill switch’ for the Internet, not by denying that Obama would be given the authority to shut down the Internet as part of this legislation, but by arguing that he already had the power to do so.

They argued “That the President already had authority under the Communications Act to “cause the closing of any facility or station for wire communication” when there is a “state or threat of war”, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

Fears that the legislation is aimed at bringing the Internet under the regulatory power of the U.S. government in an offensive against free speech were heightened further on Sunday, when Lieberman revealed that the plan was to mimic China’s policies of policing the web with censorship and coercion.

“Right now China, the government, can disconnect parts of its Internet in case of war and we need to have that here too,” Lieberman told CNN’s Candy Crowley.

While media and public attention is overwhelmingly focused on the BP oil spill, the establishment is quietly preparing the framework that will allow Obama, or indeed any President who follows him, to bring down a technological iron curtain that will give the government a foot in the door on seizing complete control over the Internet.

As we have illustrated, fears surrounding cybersecurity have been hyped to mask the real agenda behind the bill, which is to strangle the runaway growth of alternative and independent media outlets which are exposing government atrocities, cover-ups and cronyism like never before.

Indeed, China uses similar rhetoric about the need to maintain “security” and combating cyber warfare by regulating the web, when in reality their entire program is focused around silencing anyone who criticizes the state.

The real agenda behind government control of the Internet has always been to strangle and suffocate independent media outlets who are now competing with and even displacing establishment press organs, with websites like the Drudge Report now attracting more traffic than many large newspapers combined. As part of this war against independent media, the FTC recently proposing a “Drudge Tax” that would force independent media organizations to pay fees that would be used to fund mainstream newspapers.

Source | See also under Internet: Australian Government to Force Use of State Firewall Package, Block ‘Unauthorized’ Programs | Heritage Minister tars those opposing copyright bill C32 as ‘radical extremists’ | Experts Draft Document Critical Of ACTA: Signatures Wanted | Google facing multiple international probes over Street View GPS wardriving campaign | US Senator: China Can Shut Down The Internet, Why Can’t We? | Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US President | U.S. seeks international organization in battle against cyber terror | Homeland Security’s Cyber Bill Would Codify Executive Emergency Powers | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | Rural Internet providers angered by federal support of bigger rivals | Maybe it’s time to muzzle the trolls: Globe tech writer advocates online moderation | US Federal Trade Commission considers taxing online speech | Lieberman Bill Gives Feds ‘Emergency’ Powers to Secure Civilian Nets | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | India Gearing Up To Fight ACTA; Seeking Other, Like-Minded, Countries | Cyber Command: We Don’t Wanna Defend the Internet (We Just Might Have To) | Pentagon: Let us monitor your network or else | US appoints first cyber warfare general | Harper government secretly monitoring online chats about politics | Obama Czar Wants Mandatory Government Propaganda On Political Websites | Power Corp. open to charging for online content | NSA head confirmed as chief of US cyber command | Pirate Bay Appeal Judges Cleared of Bias | International Copyright Draft Release Was Apparently A One Time Deal: Now We’re Back To Secrecy | Industry Minister Clement invites input on Canadian digital economy | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | US regulators seek new network neutrality laws | CRTC approves usage-based internet billing | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Fox News Caught Aggregating Others Copyrighted Photographs… Something Murdoch Insists Is Illegal | Cybersecurity event seeks to spur international talks | Australian PM shelves web filter legislation until after election | China wants internet firms to inform on clients | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Prospective U.S. Cyber Commander Talks Terms of Digital Warfare | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | Leading UK ISP Says It Will Defy Government’s Net Censorship Bill | Nikkei Restricts Links to Its New Web Site | Canadian researchers reveal another botnet in China, call for state cybersecurity | Internet linking rights case to go before Supreme Court | Isohunt Ordered to Remove Infringing Content | CETA worse than ACTA – EU Trade Negotiators Demand Canada Completely Overhaul Its Intellectual Property Laws | UK: Met Police launch net café spy operation | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | UK Budget 2010: Darling puts emphasis on broadband for all | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Google reroutes uncensored search to Hong Kong, raises stakes in row with China | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | Net produces new generation of human rights activists in China | U.S. cybersecurity bill introduced in Senate | Copyright conviction raises privacy concerns | U.S. feds snooping on Facebook | MP Charlie Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | Pot, Palin and prorogation: Stephen Harper gets grilled on YouTube | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | PM turns to YouTube – and takes questions | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | Cyber-bullying cases put heat on Google, Facebook | Cyberattacks push CSIS to reach out to business | United States weighs massive expansion of Internet monitoring | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | UK: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ by Digital Economy Bill | Cryptome.org Leaks Microsoft Online Surveillance Guide, MS Demands Takedown Under Copyright Law | Italy Convicts Google Execs over Youtube Video of Downs Syndrome Boy | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | More Details Emerging About School Laptop Spying, And It Doesn’t Look Good | School Spycams Case Explodes As Feds Initiate Probe | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | Pennsylvania schools spying on students using laptop Webcams, claims lawsuit | Google Books Fosters Intellectual, Legal Crossroads | Google Bans Sale of DVD Critical Of Obama Administration | EU Already Has A ‘Public/Private’ IP Observatory To Watch For Copyright Infringement Online | Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | Swedish Justice Minister reluctant to store internet user’s data | Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Hollywood loses landmark copyright case in Australia | Police want backdoor to Web users’ private data | Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web users | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | China Google Hack Exploited Security Gaps Introduced By State Surveillance Provisions | Privacy watchdog wants public input on social networking sites | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | Obama Information Czar Outlined Plan For Government To Infiltrate ‘Conspiracy Groups’ | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder | For more, visit The Memory Hole – Internet

“Constant fearmongering about cyber attacks is the cover for a global assault on Internet freedom by authorities. The web is being overtaken by independent media outlets which are now beginning to eclipse establishment news organs. This has enabled activists and the politically oppressed to expose government atrocities and cover-ups at lightning pace, something the system is keen to curtail.”

Related: Australian PM shelves web filter legislation until after election | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web users | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | China Imposes New Internet Controls | Death Of The Internet: Censorship Bills In UK, Australia, U.S. Aim To Block “Undesirable” Websites | Australia introduces web filters | Obama Wants Computer Privacy Ruling Overturned | UK Internet surveillance plan to go ahead | Security boss calls for end to net anonymity | Case for Internet spying not closed | Planned Internet, wireless surveillance laws worry watchdogs | UK ISPs condemn Internet surveillance plans | UK to found new ‘cyber-security’ units attached to national eavesdropping centre | ISPs must help police snoop on internet under new bill | UK plans to integrate ‘cybersecurity’ centre with US, Canada | China begins internet ‘blackout’ ahead of Tiananmen anniversary | Cybersecurity Is Framework For Total Government Regulation & Control Of Our Lives | Obama Set to Create A Cybersecurity Czar With Broad Mandate | EU wants ‘Internet G12′ to govern cyberspace | UK Home Secretary has secret plan to surveil, ‘Master the Internet’ | Munk Centre researchers discover botnet, call for international cyberspace ‘legal regime’ | In Australia, censored hyperlinks could cost you | NSA Dominance of Cybersecurity Would Lead to ‘Grave Peril’, Ex-Cyber Chief Tells Congress | Do We Need a New Internet? | Australian web censorship plan to begin trial despite house opposition | Chinese Learn Limits of Online Freedom as the Filter Tightens | Defense Contractors See $$$ in Cyber Security | Protests in Australia over proposal to block Web sites | China restarts online crackdown | Australia to Implement Mandatory Internet Censorship | RCMP to helm a Canadian “cyber-security strategy” | Sweden approves wiretapping law | Law Professor tells tech conference: plans to shut down Internet already on deck

Andrew Ramadge, News.com.au
June 22, 2010

Australians would be forced to install anti-virus and firewall software on their computers before being allowed to connect to the internet under a new plan to fight cyber crime.

And if their computer did get infected, internet service providers like Telstra and Optus could cut off their connection until the problem was resolved.

Those are two of the recommendations to come from a year-long inquiry into cyber crime by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications.

Results of the inquiry, titled Hackers, Fraudsters and Botnets: Tackling the Problem of Cyber Crime, were released last night in a 260-page report.

In her foreword, committee chair Belinda Neal said cyber crime had turned into a “sophisticated underground economy”.

“In the past decade, cyber crime has grown from the nuisance of the cyber smart hacker into an organised transnational crime committed for vast profit and often with devastating consequences for its victims,” Ms Neal said.

During its inquiry the committee heard a growing number of Australians were being targeted by cyber criminals and that increasing internet speeds were likely to make the situation worse.

It also heard the problem was costing Australian businesses as much as $649 million a year.

The committee looked at several different examples of cyber crime, including hacking, phishing, malware and botnets.

Among its final 34 recommendations were:

— The creation of an around-the-clock cyber crime helpline.

— Changes to the law to make unauthorised installation of software illegal.

— Companies who release IT products with security vulnerabilities should be open to claims for compensation by consumers.

Another of its recommendations was to create a new “e-security code of practice” that would define the responsibilities of internet service providers and their customers.

The code of practice would see companies like Telstra give their customers security advice when they signed up and inform them if their computer ever appeared to be compromised.

For their part, customers would have to install anti-virus and firewall software before their connection was activated and endeavour to keep the software up-to-date.

If a customer’s computer was infected by malware, the service provider could introduce gradual restrictions and eventually cut off their internet connection entirely until the machine was “remediated”.

Source | See also under Internet: Heritage Minister tars those opposing copyright bill C32 as ‘radical extremists’ | Experts Draft Document Critical Of ACTA: Signatures Wanted | Google facing multiple international probes over Street View GPS wardriving campaign | US Senator: China Can Shut Down The Internet, Why Can’t We? | Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US President | U.S. seeks international organization in battle against cyber terror | Homeland Security’s Cyber Bill Would Codify Executive Emergency Powers | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | Rural Internet providers angered by federal support of bigger rivals | Maybe it’s time to muzzle the trolls: Globe tech writer advocates online moderation | US Federal Trade Commission considers taxing online speech | Lieberman Bill Gives Feds ‘Emergency’ Powers to Secure Civilian Nets | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | India Gearing Up To Fight ACTA; Seeking Other, Like-Minded, Countries | Cyber Command: We Don’t Wanna Defend the Internet (We Just Might Have To) | Pentagon: Let us monitor your network or else | US appoints first cyber warfare general | Harper government secretly monitoring online chats about politics | Obama Czar Wants Mandatory Government Propaganda On Political Websites | Power Corp. open to charging for online content | NSA head confirmed as chief of US cyber command | Pirate Bay Appeal Judges Cleared of Bias | International Copyright Draft Release Was Apparently A One Time Deal: Now We’re Back To Secrecy | Industry Minister Clement invites input on Canadian digital economy | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | US regulators seek new network neutrality laws | CRTC approves usage-based internet billing | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Fox News Caught Aggregating Others Copyrighted Photographs… Something Murdoch Insists Is Illegal | Cybersecurity event seeks to spur international talks | Australian PM shelves web filter legislation until after election | China wants internet firms to inform on clients | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Prospective U.S. Cyber Commander Talks Terms of Digital Warfare | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | Leading UK ISP Says It Will Defy Government’s Net Censorship Bill | Nikkei Restricts Links to Its New Web Site | Canadian researchers reveal another botnet in China, call for state cybersecurity | Internet linking rights case to go before Supreme Court | Isohunt Ordered to Remove Infringing Content | CETA worse than ACTA – EU Trade Negotiators Demand Canada Completely Overhaul Its Intellectual Property Laws | UK: Met Police launch net café spy operation | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | UK Budget 2010: Darling puts emphasis on broadband for all | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Google reroutes uncensored search to Hong Kong, raises stakes in row with China | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | Net produces new generation of human rights activists in China | U.S. cybersecurity bill introduced in Senate | Copyright conviction raises privacy concerns | U.S. feds snooping on Facebook | MP Charlie Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | Pot, Palin and prorogation: Stephen Harper gets grilled on YouTube | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | PM turns to YouTube – and takes questions | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | Cyber-bullying cases put heat on Google, Facebook | Cyberattacks push CSIS to reach out to business | United States weighs massive expansion of Internet monitoring | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | UK: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ by Digital Economy Bill | Cryptome.org Leaks Microsoft Online Surveillance Guide, MS Demands Takedown Under Copyright Law | Italy Convicts Google Execs over Youtube Video of Downs Syndrome Boy | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | More Details Emerging About School Laptop Spying, And It Doesn’t Look Good | School Spycams Case Explodes As Feds Initiate Probe | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | Pennsylvania schools spying on students using laptop Webcams, claims lawsuit | Google Books Fosters Intellectual, Legal Crossroads | Google Bans Sale of DVD Critical Of Obama Administration | EU Already Has A ‘Public/Private’ IP Observatory To Watch For Copyright Infringement Online | Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | Swedish Justice Minister reluctant to store internet user’s data | Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Hollywood loses landmark copyright case in Australia | Police want backdoor to Web users’ private data | Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web users | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | China Google Hack Exploited Security Gaps Introduced By State Surveillance Provisions | Privacy watchdog wants public input on social networking sites | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | Obama Information Czar Outlined Plan For Government To Infiltrate ‘Conspiracy Groups’ | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder | For more, visit The Memory Hole – Internet

Related: Experts Draft Document Critical Of ACTA: Signatures Wanted | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | India Gearing Up To Fight ACTA; Seeking Other, Like-Minded, Countries | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | The Economist On Why Copyright Needs To Return To Its Roots | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Beyond ACTA: Proposed EU – Canada Trade Agreement Intellectual Property Chapter Leaks | New Leaks of Secret ACTA Copyright Law Reveal Oppressive ‘Global DMCA’ | MPAA Says Critics of Secret Copyright Treaty Hate Hollywood | ACTA Threatens Made-in-Canada Copyright Policy | More ACTA Details Leak: It’s An Entertainment Industry Wishlist | Six Days Left: Canadian Net Users Caught As Copyright Consultation Nears Conclusion | MP Charlie Angus on copyright: industry lobby pulling for ‘dead business model’ | Ottawa denies altering public’s ECopyright Consultation submissions | Security guards stop MPs, students from distributing fair use flyers at Toronto copyright townhall | Can The Public Be Heard On Copyright Issues? | Copyright Consultation Launches: Time For Canadians To Speak Out | Third stab at copyright law ‘reform’ to kick off with consultations | Time to slay Canadian file-sharing myths | Canadian copyright lobbyists leaned on “independent” researchers to change report on file-sharing | Think tank plagiarizes, pulls report on Canadian piracy | Obama Administration Claims Copyright Treaty Involves State Secrets | Latest Round of Closed-Door ACTA Copyright Negotiations Wrap Up | Digital rights groups sue for access to secret ACTA treaty | Critics waging a cyber offensive to fight copyright changes | Canadian Industry Minister lies about Canadian DMCA on national radio, then hangs up | The Canadian DMCA: Check the Fine Print | Government ready to drop copyright bomb | Transparency needed on ACTA | Revamped copyright law targets electronic devices | New Attempt to Align Canada’s Copyright Act with USA Coming Soon | Canadian DMCA To Be Introduced Tomorrow Morning?

Michael Geist, MichaelGeist.ca
June 22, 2010

There was considerable attention yesterday on a media report stating that Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore warned against “radical extremists” opposing C-32. A video of part of his remarks has now been posted online [full video here]. The comments, which come after the prepared speech, feature a no-holds-barred attack against those arguing for fair copyright. According to Moore, some proposed amendments to C-32 are not genuine but rather part of an attempt to oppose copyright and copyright reform, to drum up fear, and to mislead. Moore encourages confrontation, urging the audience to confront on Facebook, Twitter, talk shows and in the media until “they are defeated.”

I’m under no illusion here. Yesterday, I asked in a post who Moore’s “radical extremists” are. The video suggests that he thinks it is me and the thousands of other Canadians who have argued for fair copyright (a reporter at the event reached the same conclusion and CRIA lawyer Barry Sookman is happy to do the same). His comments met with applause from the audience and will be taken as a mandate to continue the astroturfing activities on Balanced Copyright for Canada.

To hear the Minister of Canadian Heritage both discredit the views of so many people and to encourage confrontation as the optimal plan of action is incredibly discouraging. To use his own words, it is an attempt to mislead, misdirect, and undermine what has been more than a year-long effort for Canadians to speak out on copyright. For those that are interested, my actual take on C-32 is here and some proposed amendments here. The comments are not dissimilar from many consumer, education, library, business, and creator groups. I see few people who are “absolutists” out there – most want a fair approach but may disagree on precisely where to strike the balance on issues such as digital locks or fair dealing.

Perhaps most troubling is the fact that this is part of a growing trend. Yesterday’s comments targeted fair copyright, but we are not alone. When consumer groups criticize the bill, Moore claims they don’t represent consumers and cites support from the Chamber of Commerce instead. When political opposition parties speak of the need for reform to digital locks provisions, he says they have not put forward amendments. When creator groups such as ACTRA criticize his approach, he blocks them on Twitter. When business and education groups express concern about digital locks, he selectively cites their supportive comments instead. Moore is clearly ready to fight and has urged the few supporters of DMCA-style provisions to do the same.

Source | See also under Media: Experts Draft Document Critical Of ACTA: Signatures Wanted | Toronto activists launch G20 alternative media centre | US Senator: China Can Shut Down The Internet, Why Can’t We? | Supreme Court upholds restrictions on government documents | Russian police seize 100,000 anti-Vladimir Putin books | Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | WikiLeaks to release video of deadly US airstrike in Garani | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US President | U.S. seeks international organization in battle against cyber terror | Homeland Security’s Cyber Bill Would Codify Executive Emergency Powers | Gaza flotilla attack: activist releases new footage | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | ‘Fox News North’? Quebecor planning 24-hour network | Rural Internet providers angered by federal support of bigger rivals | Tories worked hard to paint bloody Afghan war as peace mission: MEP documents | Maybe it’s time to muzzle the trolls: Globe tech writer advocates online moderation | G20 media centre with fake lake to cost $1.9M | Harper’s Privy Council message control system is unprecedented, critics say | US Federal Trade Commission considers taxing online speech | Prime Minister’s Office tells Tory MPs not to answer Citizen reporter’s questions on expenses | Canada’s new information czar vows to take on delays in access system | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | Pirate Bay Appeal Judges Cleared of Bias | International Copyright Draft Release Was Apparently A One Time Deal: Now We’re Back To Secrecy | Canwest sells newspapers to creditor group for $1.1B | Industry Minister Clement invites input on Canadian digital economy | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | Media can’t shield sources all the time, court rules | US regulators seek new network neutrality laws | Canadian Journalists Barred From Gitmo | Press For Truth Arrested While Reporting On The G20 Summit | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Fox News Caught Aggregating Others Copyrighted Photographs… Something Murdoch Insists Is Illegal | Shaw buying up CanWest TV assets from Goldman-Sachs | China wants internet firms to inform on clients | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | U.S. Troops Apologize For Wikileaks Massacre Video | The Economist On Why Copyright Needs To Return To Its Roots | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Prospective U.S. Cyber Commander Talks Terms of Digital Warfare | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | Access to information risks being ‘obliterated’: report | Leading UK ISP Says It Will Defy Government’s Net Censorship Bill | Nikkei Restricts Links to Its New Web Site | WikiLeaks releases video of alleged U.S. helicopter attack on Reuters reporters | Internet linking rights case to go before Supreme Court | CETA worse than ACTA – EU Trade Negotiators Demand Canada Completely Overhaul Its Intellectual Property Laws | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | New policy shrouds number of Canada’s Afghan campaign injuries in secrecy | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Google reroutes uncensored search to Hong Kong, raises stakes in row with China | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | Copyright conviction raises privacy concerns | MP Charlie Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion | Georgia suffering backlash over media-staged Russian attack | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | UK Government Ad: Use Cash And Enjoy Privacy? You’re A Terrorist | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | Goldman appeals CanWest, Shaw deal | Cyber-bullying cases put heat on Google, Facebook | North Korean worker executed for passing on news | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | UK: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ by Digital Economy Bill | Cryptome.org Leaks Microsoft Online Surveillance Guide, MS Demands Takedown Under Copyright Law | Italy Convicts Google Execs over Youtube Video of Downs Syndrome Boy | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | Cabinet ministers’ offices regularly interfere in access to information requests, says Tory staffer | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | Google Books Fosters Intellectual, Legal Crossroads | Google Bans Sale of DVD Critical Of Obama Administration | US media omission: Iran calls for global nuclear disarmament | EU Already Has A ‘Public/Private’ IP Observatory To Watch For Copyright Infringement Online | Shaw Cable moves for acquisition of controlling share in Canwest Global | Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | HST ad campaign debuts in Ontario | Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Men at Work plagiarized Kookaburra tune, Australian court rules | Hollywood loses landmark copyright case in Australia | Police want backdoor to Web users’ private data | Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web user | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | Pentagon calls for ‘Office of Strategic Deception’ | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | The Toronto 18 Publication Ban: Silence affects the core of justice | China Google Hack Exploited Security Gaps Introduced By State Surveillance Provisions | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder | Tipping point at CanWest | See more in The Memory Hole – Media

Mike Masnick, Techdirt.com
June 21, 2010

With ACTA finally being officially “released” back in April, the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, at American University’s Washington College of Law, brought together a ton of actual stakeholders and experts last week to discuss what the draft actually said — and found severe problems with it. Together, they put together a draft letter for signatures, which they plan on releasing on Wednesday of this week. The current draft reads as follows:

This DRAFT statement reflects the conclusions reached at a meeting of over 90 academics, practitioners and public interest organizations from five continents gathered at American University Washington College of Law, June 16-18, 2010. In the days following the meeting, the statement received the individual and organizational endorsements listed below, and is still open for further endorsements at www.pijip.org

The meeting, convened by American University’s Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, was called to analyze the official text of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), released for the first time in April, 2010, after years of secretive negotiations. The text was released in the context of public criticism of the process and presumed substance of the negotiations (see Wellington Declaration, EU Resolution on Transparency and State of Play of the ACTA Negotiations). Negotiators claim that ACTA will not harm significant public interests.
We find that the terms of the agreement threaten numerous public interests, including nearly every concern specifically disclaimed by the negotiators in their announcement.

The proposed agreement is a deeply flawed product of a deeply flawed process.

What started as a proposal to coordinate customs enforcement offices has morphed into a massive new international intellectual property (IP) and internet regulation with grave consequences for the global economy and governments’ ability to promote and protect public interests.

Any agreement of this scope and consequence must be based on a broad and consultative process and reflect a full range of public interest concerns. As detailed below, this text fails to meet these standards.

Recognizing that the terms of the agreement are under negotiation, a fair reading of the proposed text as a whole leads to our conclusions that ACTA:

THE INTERNET
-Encourages internet service providers to police users of the internet without adequate court oversight or due process;

-Globalizes ‘anti-circumvention’ provisions which threaten innovation, competition, open source business models, interoperability, copyright exceptions, and user choice;

FREE TRADE AND ACCESS TO MEDICINES
-Disrupts the free trade in legitimate generic medicines and other goods, and sacrifices the foundational principle that IP rights are territorial, by requiring customs authorities to seize goods in transit countries even when they do not violate any law of the producing and importing countries;

-Does little or nothing to address the problem of medicines with insufficient or wrong ingredients as the majority of these are not IP but regulatory system problems.-Extends the powers of custom officials to search and seize a wide range of goods, including computers and other electronic devices, without adequate safeguards against unwarranted confiscations and privacy invasions;

-Extends ‘ex officio’ border search and seizures from willful, commercial scale trademark counterfeiting to a broad range of intellectual property infringements, including “confusingly similar” trademark violations, copyright infringement standards that require interpretation of “fair use” or similar user rights, and even to patent cases which frequently involve complex questions of law and fact that are difficult to adjudicate even by specialist courts after full adjudicative processes;

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
-Will curtail full enjoyment of fundamental rights and liberties, including rights to privacy and the protection of personal data, health, access to information, free expression, due process and presumptions of innocence, cultural participation, and other internationally protected human rights;

SCOPE AND NATURE OF IP LAW
-Distorts the balance fundamental to IP law between the rights and interests of proprietors and users, including by

• introducing very specific rights and remedies for rights holders without correlative requirements to provide exceptions, limitations, and due process safeguards for users;
• shifting enforcement from private civil mechanisms to public authorities and third parties, including to customs officials, criminal prosecutors and internet service providers — in ways that are likely to be more sensitive to proprietary concerns and less sensitive to user concerns;
• omitting liability and disincentives for abuses of enforcement processes by right holders; and
• requiring the adoption of automatic damages assessments unrelated to any proven harm;

-Alters the traditional and constitutionally mandated law making processes for IP by:

• locking in and exporting controversial aspects of US and EU enforcement practices which have already proven problematic, foreclosing future legislative improvements in response to changes in technology or policy;
• requiring substantive changes to intellectual property laws of a large number of negotiating countries.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT
-Will disproportionately harm development and social welfare of the poor, particularly in developing countries, including through raising unjustifiable trade barriers to imports and exports of needed medicines and other knowledge embedded goods;

-Contains provisions inconsistent with the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement);

-Conflicts with the World Trade Organization Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health and World Health Assembly Resolution 61.21 by limiting the ability of countries to exercise to the full flexibilities in the TRIPS agreement that can promote access to needed medicines;

-Circumvents and undermines the commitments agreed to under the World Intellectual Property Organization development agenda, particularly recommendation 45 committing to “approach intellectual property enforcement in the context of broader societal interests and especially development-oriented concerns,” and “in accordance with Article 7 of the TRIPS Agreement”;

INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES
-Creates a new and redundant international administration for IP issues outside of WIPO or the WTO with broad powers but limited transparency, threatening multilateralism in international IP norm setting;

-Encourages technical assistance, public awareness campaigns, and partnerships with the private sector that appear designed to promote only the interests of IP owners;

CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS
The current process for considering public input into ACTA is fundamentally flawed in numerous respects. In many countries, the only consultations taking place are with select members of the public, off-the-record and without benefit of sharing the latest version of the rapidly changing text. There is little possibility that a fair and balanced agreement that protects and promotes public interests can evolve from such a distorted policy making process.

Governments, right holders and civil society should have an open and evidence-based discussion on the right strategy to confront willful commercial scale trademark counterfeiting and commercial scale copyright piracy. This discussion should take place in multilateral and national open and on-the-record forums with access to current negotiating text so that all interested stakeholders can participate.

They are looking for signatures to include on the document before it is released on Wednesday. If you agree with what the document says, feel free to follow the instructions on the site to add your name to the list. Will it actually have any impact? Who knows, but it’s about time that those who have been blindly supporting ACTA realize that the concerns here are legit, and weren’t all wiped away just because the government released the document.

Source | See also under Media: Toronto activists launch G20 alternative media centre | US Senator: China Can Shut Down The Internet, Why Can’t We? | Supreme Court upholds restrictions on government documents | Russian police seize 100,000 anti-Vladimir Putin books | Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | WikiLeaks to release video of deadly US airstrike in Garani | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US President | U.S. seeks international organization in battle against cyber terror | Homeland Security’s Cyber Bill Would Codify Executive Emergency Powers | Gaza flotilla attack: activist releases new footage | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | ‘Fox News North’? Quebecor planning 24-hour network | Rural Internet providers angered by federal support of bigger rivals | Tories worked hard to paint bloody Afghan war as peace mission: MEP documents | Maybe it’s time to muzzle the trolls: Globe tech writer advocates online moderation | G20 media centre with fake lake to cost $1.9M | Harper’s Privy Council message control system is unprecedented, critics say | US Federal Trade Commission considers taxing online speech | Prime Minister’s Office tells Tory MPs not to answer Citizen reporter’s questions on expenses | Canada’s new information czar vows to take on delays in access system | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | Pirate Bay Appeal Judges Cleared of Bias | International Copyright Draft Release Was Apparently A One Time Deal: Now We’re Back To Secrecy | Canwest sells newspapers to creditor group for $1.1B | Industry Minister Clement invites input on Canadian digital economy | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | Media can’t shield sources all the time, court rules | US regulators seek new network neutrality laws | Canadian Journalists Barred From Gitmo | Press For Truth Arrested While Reporting On The G20 Summit | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Fox News Caught Aggregating Others Copyrighted Photographs… Something Murdoch Insists Is Illegal | Shaw buying up CanWest TV assets from Goldman-Sachs | China wants internet firms to inform on clients | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | U.S. Troops Apologize For Wikileaks Massacre Video | The Economist On Why Copyright Needs To Return To Its Roots | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Prospective U.S. Cyber Commander Talks Terms of Digital Warfare | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | Access to information risks being ‘obliterated’: report | Leading UK ISP Says It Will Defy Government’s Net Censorship Bill | Nikkei Restricts Links to Its New Web Site | WikiLeaks releases video of alleged U.S. helicopter attack on Reuters reporters | Internet linking rights case to go before Supreme Court | CETA worse than ACTA – EU Trade Negotiators Demand Canada Completely Overhaul Its Intellectual Property Laws | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | New policy shrouds number of Canada’s Afghan campaign injuries in secrecy | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Google reroutes uncensored search to Hong Kong, raises stakes in row with China | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | Copyright conviction raises privacy concerns | MP Charlie Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion | Georgia suffering backlash over media-staged Russian attack | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | UK Government Ad: Use Cash And Enjoy Privacy? You’re A Terrorist | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | Goldman appeals CanWest, Shaw deal | Cyber-bullying cases put heat on Google, Facebook | North Korean worker executed for passing on news | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | UK: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ by Digital Economy Bill | Cryptome.org Leaks Microsoft Online Surveillance Guide, MS Demands Takedown Under Copyright Law | Italy Convicts Google Execs over Youtube Video of Downs Syndrome Boy | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | Cabinet ministers’ offices regularly interfere in access to information requests, says Tory staffer | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | Google Books Fosters Intellectual, Legal Crossroads | Google Bans Sale of DVD Critical Of Obama Administration | US media omission: Iran calls for global nuclear disarmament | EU Already Has A ‘Public/Private’ IP Observatory To Watch For Copyright Infringement Online | Shaw Cable moves for acquisition of controlling share in Canwest Global | Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | HST ad campaign debuts in Ontario | Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Men at Work plagiarized Kookaburra tune, Australian court rules | Hollywood loses landmark copyright case in Australia | Police want backdoor to Web users’ private data | Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web user | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | Pentagon calls for ‘Office of Strategic Deception’ | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | The Toronto 18 Publication Ban: Silence affects the core of justice | China Google Hack Exploited Security Gaps Introduced By State Surveillance Provisions | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder | Tipping point at CanWest | See more in The Memory Hole – Media

The company says it uses the location of Wi-Fi networks to enhance location-based services on smartphones.

It’s just to help track your cellphone for location-based services. Oh, well, that’s okay then.

Related: Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Google Street View goes live in Canadian cities | Google PowerMeter to track home energy usage in Toronto test drive | Britons block Google Street View van | Google Street View comes to Canada | Google Street View could care less about your privacy

Diane Bartz, Reuters
June 21, 2010

WASHINGTON — Connecticut’s attorney general will lead a multi-state probe of whether Google Inc. broke laws when it siphoned personal data off wireless networks around the world, which the Internet search leader has said was inadvertent.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said on Monday more than 30 states participated in a recent conference call on the issue. He said consumers have a right to know what information was collected, and whether U.S. states need to alter procedures to guard against such leaks in future.

Shares in Google slid 1.4% to US$492.81 in a relatively flat market.

In May, Google said its cars photographing streets around the world have for years accidentally collected personal data — which a security expert said at the time could have included email messages and passwords — sent by consumers over wireless networks.

“My office will lead a multi-state investigation — expected to involve a significant number of states — into Google’s deeply disturbing invasion of personal privacy,” Mr. Blumenthal said in a statement.

“Consumers have a right and a need to know what personal information — which could include emails, Web browsing and passwords — Google may have collected, how and why.”

Mr. Blumenthal said Google has cooperated but “its response so far raises as many questions as it answers.”

“Our investigation will consider whether laws may have been broken and whether changes to state and federal statutes may be necessary,” he said.

The revelation marked the latest development in a privacy controversy surrounding Google. The company already faces an informal investigation over the matter by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, a variety of probes overseas, and class action lawsuits.

Google has said the data were accidentally collected by “Street View” cars, well known for crisscrossing the globe and taking panoramic pictures of city streets, which the company displays in its online maps product.

“It was a mistake for us to include code in our software that collected payload data, but we believe we did nothing illegal. We’re working with the relevant authorities to answer their questions and concerns,” Google spokeswoman Christine Chen said in an email.

The company says it uses the location of Wi-Fi networks to enhance location-based services on smartphones.

It first revealed that Street View cars were collecting wireless data in April, but said that no personal data were involved. But after an audit requested by Germany, Google acknowledged in May that it had been mistakenly collecting samples of “payload data.”

Mr. Blumenthal also released a letter sent to Google in mid-June asking for more details of the data collection. He had written to Google previously and the giant Internet search and advertising company had responded.

In the second letter, Mr. Blumenthal asked the company when it realized that its Street View cars had collected “payload data,” who audited or analyzed the Street View data collection program, and whether information was ever extracted from the payload data.

He also asked what precautions Google takes to ensure that its engineers do not insert code into Google products, and which engineer or engineers inserted the payload data code into the Street View cars’ collection devices.

Source | Alternate Coverage | See Also under GPS: U.S. airlines, small planes must install GPS | Feds push for tracking cell phones | Calgary’s 911 centre to track cellphone callers to within meters | Texas Schoolkids Tagged With GPS Tracking Devices | Only $350 to join GPS bandwagon and jettison privacy: track kids, auto, social network | GPS tracking concerns Winnipeg city workers | Surveillance Shocker: Sprint Received 8 MILLION Law Enforcement Requests for GPS Location Data in the Past Year | GPS Tracked Road Tolls Back On Agenda for Toronto Metrolinx | EU urges use of tracking boxes for motorists | Saudi files for ‘killer’ tracking chip patent | UK: Children to be tracked by sat nav to stop bad behaviour | NY Times: Mileage Tax Would ‘Track Where Motorists Have Been’ | Do you snoop on your teen? | GPS wristwatch helps parents track children | Regulator will force cellphone companies to adopt GPS tracking system | Last security certificate detainee to be freed | UK: ‘Spy-in-sky’ trials get the go-ahead despite Government promise to scrap road-pricing plan | Calls for GPS-tracked ’speed-limiting’ cars in UK |Oregon Governor Wants GPS-Tracked Vehicle Mileage Tax | Software blocks car phone users | Mobile phones to track carbon footprint using GPS | Global ‘Intelligent Transport’ initiative comes to your cellphone: Location data used to track traffic flow | GPS Mapping Systems Enable Police Tracking | Texas truant students to be tracked by GPS anklets | Satellites track Mexico kidnap victims with implanted chips | Federal parolees to wear tracking anklets in pilot project | Mobile Phone Users Secretly Tracked for Behaviorist Study | Metrolinx Proposes Satellite Vehicle Tracking for Road Tolls | UK proposes national road tolls to cut congestion

Paul Joseph Watson, PrisonPlanet.com
June 21,2010

Attempting to reassure CNN viewers that the government isn’t trying to shut down free speech on web, Senator only stokes more alarm by citing country that censors all online dissent

Senator Joe Lieberman, co-author of a bill that would give President Obama a ‘kill switch’ to shut down parts of the Internet, attempted to reassure CNN viewers yesterday that concerns about the government regulating free speech on the web were overblown, but he only stoked more alarm by citing China, a country that censors all online dissent against the state, as the model to which American should compare itself.

During an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union with Candy Crowley, Lieberman characterized concerns that his 197-page Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act (PDF) legislation represents an attempt to hand Obama “absolute power” over the Internet as “total misinformation,” adding that people were “intentionally peddling misinformation”.

Lieberman again invoked “cybersecurity” as the motivation behind the bill and tried to assuage the worries of critics. “So I say to my friends on the Internet, relax. Take a look at the bill. And this is something that we need to protect our country,” said the Senator.

However, Lieberman’s choice of comparison in justifying the necessity of the bill will only serve to heighten concerns that the government is going after free speech.

“Right now China, the government, can disconnect parts of its Internet in case of war and we need to have that here too,” said Lieberman.

The Senator’s reference to China is a telling revelation of what the cybersecurity agenda is really all about. China’s vice-like grip over its Internet systems has very little to do with “war” and everything to do with silencing all dissent against the state.

Chinese Internet censorship is imposed via a centralized government blacklist of any websites that contain criticism of the state, porn, or any other content deemed unsuitable by the authorities. Every time you attempt to visit a website, you are re-routed through the government firewall, often making for long delays and crippling speeds.

China has exercised its power to shut down the Internet, something that Lieberman wants to introduce in the U.S., at politically sensitive times in order to stem the flow of information about government abuse and atrocities. During the anti-government riots which occurred in July 2009, the Chinese government completely shut down the Internet across the entire northwestern region of Xinjiang for days. Similarly, Internet access in parts of Tibet is routinely restricted as part of government efforts to pre-empt and neutralize unrest.

Major websites like Twitter, Google and You Tube have also been shut down either temporarily or permanently by Chinese authorities.

News websites in China now require users to register their true identities in order to leave comments. This abolition of anonymity is used to chill free speech in that it prevents the user from engaging in criticism of the state for fear that they would be tracked down by authorities.

Chinese authorities are now going further than merely maintaining a “blacklist” of banned websites by instituting a “whitelist” of allowed websites, a move that “could potentially place much of the Internet off-limits to Chinese readers”. Websites not pre-registered with the government would be completely blocked to all Internet users, meaning “millions of completely innocuous sites” would be banned. This equates to requiring government approval to set up a website, which would obviously not be granted if the person or organization making the application has a history of or is likely to engage in dissent against the state.

President Obama himself has criticized Chinese Internet censorship as a hindrance to the free flow of information and allowing citizens to hold their governments accountable, and yet Lieberman wants to hand Obama similar powers.

Given the nature of Chinese Internet regulation, with has nothing to do with “war” as Lieberman claims and everything to do with political censorship and covering up information about state oppression, we should be alarmed that the Senator wants to see America move in the same direction.

The real agenda behind government control of the Internet has always been to strangle and suffocate independent media outlets who are now competing with and even displacing establishment press organs, with websites like the Drudge Report now attracting more traffic than many large newspapers combined. As part of this war against independent media, the FTC recently proposing a “Drudge Tax” that would force independent media organizations to pay fees that would be used to fund mainstream newspapers.

In addition, the FCC has rolled a censorship plan into its Net Neutrality scheme in a stealth attempt to impose Internet regulation.

Under the FCC’s regulatory control consumers would be forced to buy an Internet/TV/Phone connectivity box that the government approves. “Everyone will pay rates for service that the government sets. And everything passing through your Internet, TV, or phone would become subject to the FCC’s consistent regulatory whim,” writes Americans for Tax Reform’s Kelly William Cobb.

Similar legislation aimed at imposing Chinese-style censorship of the Internet and giving the state the power to shut down networks has already been passed globally, including in the UK, New Zealand and Australia.

We have extensively covered efforts to scrap the internet as we know it and move toward a greatly restricted “internet 2″ system. Handing government the power to control the Internet would only be the first step towards this system, whereby individual ID’s and government permission would be required simply to operate a website.

Lieberman’s argument that the U.S. government should be handed the same power to regulate the Internet currently exercised by Chinese authorities only serves to confirm that the true agenda behind the Obama ‘kill switch’ legislation is to launch a war, not against foreign hackers, but against the free speech of the American people.

Watch the CNN clip below.

Source | See also under Internet: Iceland Unanimously Approves ‘Wikileaks Bill’ To Establish Free Speech Press Haven | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US President | U.S. seeks international organization in battle against cyber terror | Homeland Security’s Cyber Bill Would Codify Executive Emergency Powers | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | Rural Internet providers angered by federal support of bigger rivals | Maybe it’s time to muzzle the trolls: Globe tech writer advocates online moderation | US Federal Trade Commission considers taxing online speech | Lieberman Bill Gives Feds ‘Emergency’ Powers to Secure Civilian Nets | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | India Gearing Up To Fight ACTA; Seeking Other, Like-Minded, Countries | Cyber Command: We Don’t Wanna Defend the Internet (We Just Might Have To) | Pentagon: Let us monitor your network or else | US appoints first cyber warfare general | Harper government secretly monitoring online chats about politics | Obama Czar Wants Mandatory Government Propaganda On Political Websites | Power Corp. open to charging for online content | NSA head confirmed as chief of US cyber command | Pirate Bay Appeal Judges Cleared of Bias | International Copyright Draft Release Was Apparently A One Time Deal: Now We’re Back To Secrecy | Industry Minister Clement invites input on Canadian digital economy | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | US regulators seek new network neutrality laws | CRTC approves usage-based internet billing | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Fox News Caught Aggregating Others Copyrighted Photographs… Something Murdoch Insists Is Illegal | Cybersecurity event seeks to spur international talks | Australian PM shelves web filter legislation until after election | China wants internet firms to inform on clients | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Prospective U.S. Cyber Commander Talks Terms of Digital Warfare | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | Leading UK ISP Says It Will Defy Government’s Net Censorship Bill | Nikkei Restricts Links to Its New Web Site | Canadian researchers reveal another botnet in China, call for state cybersecurity | Internet linking rights case to go before Supreme Court | Isohunt Ordered to Remove Infringing Content | CETA worse than ACTA – EU Trade Negotiators Demand Canada Completely Overhaul Its Intellectual Property Laws | UK: Met Police launch net café spy operation | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | UK Budget 2010: Darling puts emphasis on broadband for all | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Google reroutes uncensored search to Hong Kong, raises stakes in row with China | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | Net produces new generation of human rights activists in China | U.S. cybersecurity bill introduced in Senate | Copyright conviction raises privacy concerns | U.S. feds snooping on Facebook | MP Charlie Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | Pot, Palin and prorogation: Stephen Harper gets grilled on YouTube | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | PM turns to YouTube – and takes questions | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | Cyber-bullying cases put heat on Google, Facebook | Cyberattacks push CSIS to reach out to business | United States weighs massive expansion of Internet monitoring | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | UK: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ by Digital Economy Bill | Cryptome.org Leaks Microsoft Online Surveillance Guide, MS Demands Takedown Under Copyright Law | Italy Convicts Google Execs over Youtube Video of Downs Syndrome Boy | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | More Details Emerging About School Laptop Spying, And It Doesn’t Look Good | School Spycams Case Explodes As Feds Initiate Probe | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | Pennsylvania schools spying on students using laptop Webcams, claims lawsuit | Google Books Fosters Intellectual, Legal Crossroads | Google Bans Sale of DVD Critical Of Obama Administration | EU Already Has A ‘Public/Private’ IP Observatory To Watch For Copyright Infringement Online | Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | Swedish Justice Minister reluctant to store internet user’s data | Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Hollywood loses landmark copyright case in Australia | Police want backdoor to Web users’ private data | Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web users | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | China Google Hack Exploited Security Gaps Introduced By State Surveillance Provisions | Privacy watchdog wants public input on social networking sites | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | Obama Information Czar Outlined Plan For Government To Infiltrate ‘Conspiracy Groups’ | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder | For more, visit The Memory Hole – Internet

And why is this important? Because free speech is under sustained attack:

Related: Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | Michigan Considers Law to License Journalists for ‘Moral Character’ | Obama Czar Wants Mandatory Government Propaganda On Political Websites | Media can’t shield sources all the time, court rules | Press For Truth Arrested While Reporting On The G20 Summit | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | North Korean worker executed for passing on news | The Toronto 18 Publication Ban: Silence affects the core of justice | Obama Information Czar Outlined Plan For Government To Infiltrate ‘Conspiracy Groups’ | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | Canadian Supreme Court expands freedoms for media | Border guards are now Olympic thought police – Amy Goodman detained | Cuban blogger claims she was roughed up by state agents | Globe appeal to protect adscam sources before court | Obama: We Need To Bailout Newspapers To Stop New Media Taking Over | Canadian media watched closely in Afghanistan | It’s a great day for freedom of speech: ‘Hate Speech’ laws found to violate Charter Rights | Associated Press Tries To DRM The News | Murdoch CEO Labels Bloggers “Political Extremists” | Should linking be illegal? | Top court to hear ‘Adscam’ media gag order challenge | Top court reserves decision in reporter confidentiality case | Don’t let media shield ‘criminals’, hearing told | Supreme Court to rule on ‘tidal-wave’ of press freedom cases | Fredericton police arrest well-known N.B. blogger on legislature grounds | Barclays bank gags Guardian newspaper over tax avoidance leaks | Chinese Learn Limits of Online Freedom as the Filter Tightens | UK Terror Law To Make Photographing Police Illegal | Publication ban law too broad, top Ontario court rules | Public access vs. government secrecy the issue in Supreme Court of Canada case | UK MPs seek to censor the media | Italian Judge: Blogs are Illegal | RCMP lays no charges in Maher Arar ‘terrorist’ leaks, declares case closed | Human rights body to consider Internet speech regulation | Blogger arrests hit record high

Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard
June 16, 2010

The Icelandic parliament has voted unanimously to create what are intended to be the strongest media freedom laws in the world. And Iceland intends these measures to have international impact, by creating a safe haven for publishers worldwide — and their servers.

The proposal, known as the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative, requires changes to Icelandic law to strengthen journalistic source protection, freedom of speech, and government transparency.

“The Prime Minister voted for it, and the Minister of Finance, and everybody present,” says Icelandic Member of Parliament Birgitta Jónsdóttir, who has been the proposal’s chief sponsor. Her point is that Iceland is serious about this. The country is in the mood for openness after a small group of bankers saddled it with crippling debt, and the proposal ties neatly into the country’s strategy to be prime server real-estate.

But although the legislative package sounds very encouraging from a freedom of expression point of view, it’s not clear what the practical benefits will be to organizations outside Iceland. In his analysis of the proposal, Arthur Bright of the Citizen Media Law Project has noted that, in one major test case of cross-border online libel law, “publication” was deemed to occur at the point of download — meaning that serving a controversial page from Iceland won’t keep you from getting sued in other countries. But if nothing else, it would probably prevent your servers from being forcibly shut down.

There might be other benefits too. Wikileaks says that it routes all submissions through Sweden, where investigations into the identity of an anonymous source are illegal. Wikileaks was heavily involved in drafting and promoting the Icelandic package, and whatever your opinion of their current controversies, they’ve proven remarkably immune to legal prosecution in their short history. Conceivably, other journalism organizations could gain some measure of legal protection for anonymous sources if all communications were routed through Iceland.

All of which is to say that issues of press censorship have long since passed the point of globalization. When an aggrieved party in country A can sue a publisher in country B through the courts of country C (as in these examples), press freedom must be understood — and fought for — at an international level.

“It has not only an impact here, but in changing the dialog in Europe,” Birgitta Jónsdóttir told me.

But it will be some time before the full repercussions of Iceland’s move are felt. For a start, the new laws are not yet written. Icelandic lawyer Elfa Ýir of the Ministry of Culture is leading the drafting effort, and expects to have the help of volunteer legal experts and law students. (“Iceland is still suffering from the financial meltdown,” says Birgitta Jónsdóttir.) The complex legislative changes will be passed in several parts, possibly beginning late this year.

“It should be done in about a year,” Birgitta Jónsdóttir said. “I’ll be following this very closely.”

And then it may be further years before we understand, from case law, exactly what an “offshore freedom of expression haven” means to journalists worldwide. Nonetheless, I hope to get a discussion started among the high-powered media law types at the Annenberg-Oxford Summer Institute next month, and we’ll see if we can get a more precise understanding of the practical consequences of Iceland’s move — and how journalists might use it to protect their work. If you have some insight, do drop the Lab a line.

Source | See also under Media: WikiLeaks to release video of deadly US airstrike in Garani | Pro-copyright bill group busted as recording industry astroturf campaign | Internet ‘kill switch’ proposed for US President | U.S. seeks international organization in battle against cyber terror | Homeland Security’s Cyber Bill Would Codify Executive Emergency Powers | Gaza flotilla attack: activist releases new footage | Pentagon hunts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in bid to gag website | ‘Fox News North’? Quebecor planning 24-hour network | Rural Internet providers angered by federal support of bigger rivals | Tories worked hard to paint bloody Afghan war as peace mission: MEP documents | Maybe it’s time to muzzle the trolls: Globe tech writer advocates online moderation | G20 media centre with fake lake to cost $1.9M | Harper’s Privy Council message control system is unprecedented, critics say | US Federal Trade Commission considers taxing online speech | Prime Minister’s Office tells Tory MPs not to answer Citizen reporter’s questions on expenses | Canada’s new information czar vows to take on delays in access system | Tories unveil tougher copyright bill, requires ISPs to keep user info | Copyright Act changes to be revealed today | Pirate Bay Appeal Judges Cleared of Bias | International Copyright Draft Release Was Apparently A One Time Deal: Now We’re Back To Secrecy | Canwest sells newspapers to creditor group for $1.1B | Industry Minister Clement invites input on Canadian digital economy | Google attorney slams ACTA copyright treaty | Media can’t shield sources all the time, court rules | US regulators seek new network neutrality laws | Canadian Journalists Barred From Gitmo | Press For Truth Arrested While Reporting On The G20 Summit | Red Alert: New Canadian DMCA Bill Within Six Weeks | Fox News Caught Aggregating Others Copyrighted Photographs… Something Murdoch Insists Is Illegal | Shaw buying up CanWest TV assets from Goldman-Sachs | China wants internet firms to inform on clients | Official ACTA Draft Released, Only Very Slightly Less Awful Than Expected | U.S. Troops Apologize For Wikileaks Massacre Video | The Economist On Why Copyright Needs To Return To Its Roots | Big Content’s dystopian wish-list for the US gov’t: spyware, censorship, physical searches and SWAT teams | Danger Room What’s Next in National Security Prospective U.S. Cyber Commander Talks Terms of Digital Warfare | Thousands condemn secrecy of New Zealand round of internet copyright talks | Access to information risks being ‘obliterated’: report | Leading UK ISP Says It Will Defy Government’s Net Censorship Bill | Nikkei Restricts Links to Its New Web Site | WikiLeaks releases video of alleged U.S. helicopter attack on Reuters reporters | Internet linking rights case to go before Supreme Court | CETA worse than ACTA – EU Trade Negotiators Demand Canada Completely Overhaul Its Intellectual Property Laws | ACTA Draft: No Internet for Copyright Scofflaws | New policy shrouds number of Canada’s Afghan campaign injuries in secrecy | Entire Text of ACTA Treaty Leaks to Online Rights Website | Google reroutes uncensored search to Hong Kong, raises stakes in row with China | Revealed: ACTA to cover seven categories of intellectual property | New ACTA Leaks Complete Picture of Oppressive Global Copyright Treaty | Copyright conviction raises privacy concerns | MP Charlie Angus Introducing Private Copying Levy Bill, Flexible Fair Dealing Motion | Georgia suffering backlash over media-staged Russian attack | Secret Document Calls Wikileaks ‘Threat’ to U.S. Army | Government Internet Censorship Begins In Stealth In New Zealand | UK Government Ad: Use Cash And Enjoy Privacy? You’re A Terrorist | EU Parliament votes down ACTA global copyright resolution by overwhelming margin | Goldman appeals CanWest, Shaw deal | Cyber-bullying cases put heat on Google, Facebook | North Korean worker executed for passing on news | Cyberwar Hype Intended to Destroy the Open Internet | UK: Open Wi-Fi ‘outlawed’ by Digital Economy Bill | Cryptome.org Leaks Microsoft Online Surveillance Guide, MS Demands Takedown Under Copyright Law | Italy Convicts Google Execs over Youtube Video of Downs Syndrome Boy | China launches interview requirement, licensing for personal websites | Cabinet ministers’ offices regularly interfere in access to information requests, says Tory staffer | ACTA Internet Chapter Leaks: Renegotiates WIPO, Sets 3 Strikes as Model | Google Books Fosters Intellectual, Legal Crossroads | Google Bans Sale of DVD Critical Of Obama Administration | US media omission: Iran calls for global nuclear disarmament | EU Already Has A ‘Public/Private’ IP Observatory To Watch For Copyright Infringement Online | Shaw Cable moves for acquisition of controlling share in Canwest Global | Google shuts down music blogs without warning | Activists Shut Down Australian Government Websites in Internet Filter Protest | ACTA Is Called An ‘Executive Agreement’ To Implement Restrictive Copyright With Less Hassle Than A Treaty | HST ad campaign debuts in Ontario | Google, NSA may team up to probe cyberattacks | Men at Work plagiarized Kookaburra tune, Australian court rules | Hollywood loses landmark copyright case in Australia | Police want backdoor to Web users’ private data | Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan | UN agency calls for global cyberwarfare treaty, ‘driver’s license’ for Web user | CBC’s new licencing plan: Pay to Print, Email, and Blog, and outsource enforcement to American Copyright Digital Rights Bounty Hunters | ACTA One Step Closer To Being Done; Concerns About Transparency Ignored | Pentagon calls for ‘Office of Strategic Deception’ | Internet companies voice alarm over Italian copyright law | UK MPs frozen out of super-secret ACTA copyright talks | The Toronto 18 Publication Ban: Silence affects the core of justice | China Google Hack Exploited Security Gaps Introduced By State Surveillance Provisions | Obama Information Czar Calls For Banning Free Speech | China tells web companies to obey controls | Google Considers Leaving China If China Will Not Allow Uncensored Search | Reading Between The Still Secret Lines Of The ACTA Negotiations | Privacy no longer a social norm, says Facebook founder | Tipping point at CanWest | See more in The Memory Hole – Media